Review of The Boy Friend

The Great Beast of British cinema ,the eccentrics' eccentric,the mavericks' maverick,Michael Winner with visual flair....whatever your opinion of Mr K.Russell he should be regarded as more than just a purveyor of "Ken Russell Films" In "The Boyfriend" he ventured far outside what may be considered his comfort zone and came up with what maybe considered the best British musical film ever made - although that maybe unintentionally damning it with faint praise. It parades his usual flamboyance without being rococo,his flair for mixing visual images with music and his ability - when he cares enough about a project - to get his cast to act out of their skins. In the 1950s Sandy Wilson,along with Julian Slade put provincial bums on seats in London theatres with tuneful,carefree shows and revues. Frothy and gay they might have been but we lapped them up. Leave the theatre,walk along the Embankment to a Hot Pie Stall,mingle with a few "real cockneys" then hurry back to Victoria to catch the midnight train, flushed with our own daring. The sort of people - in short - Mr Russell hated. He got his own back fifteen years later by deflowering our beloved"The Girlfriend" and many older theatregoers never forgave him for it. But he turned her into a smart,snazzy,funny,brash and entertaining film that will make you leave the cinema happier than when you went in. And to me that's the primary object of any film. Life's depressing enough without paying good money to get even more depressed....right?